2017-S silver proofs tomorrow and more later

Tomorrow the United States Mint will offer a 2017-S proof silver American Eagle coin to collectors.

The coin is being put into the Mint’s annual Congratulations set.

Price of the set is $54.95.

Mintage of the set is 75,000.

Will it sell out in a rush?

I expect so, but there is more to the story.

Before you order, take a deep breath and read this.

There will be another way to buy the 2017-S proof Eagle coin later this year.

The 75,000 quantity in the Congratulations Set is not all there will be.

The 2017-S will also be in the Limited Edition Silver Proof set.

Let's compare what might happen to what happened to 2016 sets without an "S" proof Eagle.

The current sales figure for the 2016 Congratulations Set is 2,374.

Obviously, the Mint thinks it needs to light a fire under set buyers this year.

Adding the first San Francisco proof silver Eagle in five years to the Congratulations Set is a way to accomplish this.

Excited buyers might only see the 75,000 number and react accordingly.

That seems to be what the Mint hopes.

Otherwise why add the coin to this set at all?

If after tomorrow the secondary market rewards buyers of the 2017 Congratulations Set, you can be sure, there will be another round of excitement when the 2017 Limited Edition Silver Proof Set is offered.

The Mint has to be counting on this as well.

For the 2016 Limited Edition Silver Proof Set, the current sales figure is 39,166.

Obviously, if the Mint can sell 75,000 in the Congratulations Set and then another 75,000 or so in this second set, it will have popped sales numbers significantly higher than the 2016 figures of 2,374 and 39,166, respectively.

That’s the Mint’s incentive.

But can a secondary market premium for a proof 2017-S silver American Eagle hold up over time with these two avenues of issue?

If you are a potential buyer, that is the question you should be asking yourself.

New issue excitement is great fun for me as an observer.

It can be rewarding for anyone who can buy from the Mint and then sell out at a quick profit on the secondary market.

Make your personal calculations tomorrow based on the knowledge that more 2017-S proof silver American Eagles will be coming later this year.

Buzz blogger Dave Harper has twice won the Numismatic Literary Guild Award for Best Blog and is editor of the weekly newspaper "Numismatic News."

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